Su Mo: "Want to Know Where Our Soul Rings Came From?"

The gates on both sides of the Soul Fighting Platform opened at the same time.

On the left, Su Mo wore a dark, fitted combat outfit with a longsword strapped to his back. Under the barrier's light, the blade's dark crimson sheen glimmered with an eerie bloody glow.

On the right, Xiao Wu wore a pink battle dress, her scorpion braid swaying lightly behind her. She carried a pink longsword in her hand.

After deciding to take Xiao Wu in, Su Mo had made her give up using Soft Skills—at least when facing men. What kind of fighting style was it, wrapping her body around an enemy?

At any rate, Su Mo did not allow it.

So Su Mo taught Xiao Wu quite a few of his sword techniques.

Xiao Wu's current fighting style was much like his: she relied on elusive Teleportation and sword techniques.

"Please have the two Soul Saints release your Martial Souls!"

Seeing Su Mo and Xiao Wu emerge, the host hurriedly continued.

"They're really young!"

"Looks like it wasn't a lie!"

"Just not sure whether they're really Soul Saints..."

"What's the rush? We'll see soon enough..."

"..."

The spectators in the central area, along with those watching the broadcast in the partitioned sections, all began discussing it heatedly.

Everyone waited for the moment Su Mo and Xiao Wu released their Martial Souls and Soul Rings.

Only after seeing it with their own eyes would they truly believe that these two young people were Soul Saints.

Su Mo and Xiao Wu, standing on the arena, did not keep them waiting for long.

After exchanging smiles, the two released their Martial Souls and Soul Rings at the same time.

Buzz—

Buzz—

Soul Rings emerged around Su Mo one by one: one yellow and six black. As for his Martial Soul, it silently merged into the fine longsword in his hand.

No one noticed the Soul Weapon Fusion. Everyone's attention had been drawn to Su Mo's Soul Rings.

And, of course, Xiao Wu's Soul Rings as well: the ideal configuration of two yellow, two purple, and three black.

The instant they saw Su Mo and Xiao Wu's Soul Rings, the entire venue erupted.

"It's real!"

"They really are Soul Saints!"

"Good heavens... one yellow and six black! Did you see that? That guy's second Soul Ring is black! Ten thousand years! His second Soul Ring is ten thousand years old!"

"Monster! He's definitely a goddamn Monster!"

"I'm going crazy... This is the first time in my life I've seen someone with six black Soul Rings..."

"Senior, you've seen a lot. Is this... is this normal?"

"Back when I personally witnessed the Pope's coronation in Spirit City, even eight Titled Douluo displaying their Soul Rings at once did not shock me this much... A ten-thousand-year second Soul Ring? That defies every known theory regarding Soul Ring absorption limits!"

The host retreated to the edge of the barrier, his raised arm frozen in midair. He took a deep breath, then swung it down with all his strength.

"The match... begins!"

At the exact instant his words fell, Su Mo and Xiao Wu vanished from the Soul Fighting Platform at the same time.

There was no warning and no trace of movement.

Xiao Wu appeared out of thin air ten zhang away on the eastern side of the platform, while Su Mo appeared three zhang behind where she had just been standing.

"What happened?!"

"I didn't see it..."

"Teleportation! Both of them used Teleportation!"

The audience boiled like a pot of water bursting into a rolling boil.

Teleportation! This exceedingly rare Soul Skill, known only from legends, had appeared simultaneously in this Soul Fight! And it was not just one person who possessed it—both of them could use it!

Clang! Clang! Clang—

Their figures flickered across the arena, colliding here one moment and exchanging blows there the next. The ringing of swords struck without pause.

Su Mo and Xiao Wu's battle did not feature any flashy, overwhelmingly powerful Soul Skills, but its unpredictability made it bizarre and enthralling, presenting the audience with a uniquely thrilling fight.

The audience fell silent.

No one spoke. No one cheered. Everyone merely stood with mouths agape and eyes wide, staring blankly at the battle onstage, one completely beyond the limits of their understanding.

They had watched Soul Fights for half their lives and thought they had seen every kind of combat: power attacks, agility attacks, control, support, close-quarters brawling, long-range bombardment, attrition battles, and explosive clashes.

But this battle before them ground every bit of their understanding into the dirt.

"So strong!"

"What a bizarre fighting style!"

"They're too fast! My eyes can't keep up at all..."

At last, someone found their voice, and even more cries of astonishment followed.

"Tell me?"

"Where did their Soul Rings come from?"

"Yeah, where exactly did the Soul Rings on them come from?"

"Could they be humans rebuilt from Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Transformations?"

"Definitely not. Su Mo's Martial Soul is a sword. Have you ever seen a sword Soul Beast?"

"Soul Beasts are extinct. There's no way they obtained their Soul Rings by hunting Soul Beasts..."

"Could it be the Self-Condensed Soul Ring that Spirit Hall has been researching all this time?"

"No way, right?"

"Spirit Hall hasn't managed to figure it out after all these years, but these two young people have mastered it?"

"Other than that, how else can you explain the Soul Rings on them?"

"Once the match is over, we have to ask them!"

"That's right, we have to ask them!"

"..."

After the initial shock, the audience's attention was no longer on the match. Instead, they were speculating about how Su Mo and Xiao Wu had acquired their Soul Rings, where they had come from, and whether they had truly condensed them themselves.

"Flender, how do you think they got their Soul Rings?"

In a corner of the stands, Zhao Wuji clenched his fists and asked Flender beside him.

"Though I don't want to believe it, their Soul Rings were most likely condensed by themselves!"

"There's no other explanation!"

Flender spoke slowly.

As he said this, he could not help thinking of Yu Xiaogang from Spirit Hall. If Yu Xiaogang saw this scene, would he be happy or saddened?

"Good, good, good!"

"Then that's wonderful!"

"I have to ask them how to condense Soul Rings! I don't want to be stuck at level seventy as a six-ring Soul Emperor for the rest of my life!"

Hearing Flender's words, Zhao Wuji immediately cried out in excitement.

Flender said nothing. Wasn't he in exactly the same situation?

That was why he, too, was so excited by Su Mo and Xiao Wu's appearance.

On the arena, Su Mo and Xiao Wu treated the fight as part of their usual daily training. Then, after a quarter of an hour, Su Mo's voice suddenly rang out during a gap in their exchange.

"That's enough."

"Mm!"

Their figures collided one final time before they leaped backward simultaneously, each landing at one end of the Soul Fighting Platform.

Su Mo came to a stop, and the Blood Shadow Sword withdrew into his palm as his seven Soul Rings slowly receded into his body.

Xiao Wu also sheathed her sword. The hem of her pink battle dress settled softly, her long hair slightly disheveled, yet her breathing remained steady.

Su Mo turned toward the utterly dumbfounded host, his tone as calm as if he had just finished a stroll. "We'll stop here. This match ends in a draw."

The host opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Finally finding his voice, he announced, "Th-this Soul Fight... is a draw!"

"Su Mo! Su Mo!"

"Xiao Wu! Xiao Wu!"

The audience erupted in cheers.

"Soul Saint Su Mo, where did your Soul Rings come from?"

"That's right, esteemed Soul Saints, where did your Soul Rings come from?"

"Can you tell us? Please, we're begging you!"

"I've been stuck at level thirty for ten years already!"

"Me too..."

"Esteemed Soul Saints..."

But after the cheers died down, the spectators began shouting at Su Mo and Xiao Wu.

They desperately wanted to know where Su Mo and Xiao Wu's Soul Rings had come from.

Su Mo had expected this situation and was not flustered in the slightest.

The host, on the other hand, was drenched in sweat.

Su Mo beckoned to him, and the host hurried over to Su Mo.

"Give me the microphone."

The host respectfully handed the microphone to Su Mo at once.

The audience immediately fell quiet. No one made another sound.

Su Mo picked up the microphone and said with a smile:

"Want to know where our Soul Rings came from?"